Integrating Computer Ethics into the Computer Science Curriculum**

Keith Miller

• Introduction
• Can Computer Ethics Be Taught in the Computer Science Curriculum?
• Technical Concerns, Ethical Questions
  • CS 1: Computer Programming I
  • CS 2: Computer Programming II
  • CS 3: Introduction to Computer Systems
  • CS 4: Introduction to Computer Organizations
  • CS 5: Introduction to File Processing
  • CS 6: Operating Systems and Computer Architecture I
  • CS 7: Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis
  • CS 8: Organization of Programming Languages
• Sources of Information
  • Books
  • Collections of Articles
  • Periodicals
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgments
• References

Books

1. The Hastings Center Series on the Teaching of Ethics

The Hastings Center has published a nine-book series on the teaching of ethics. Three of the books are of particular interest to computer science professors seeking guidance in teaching ethics:

• I. The Teaching of Ethics in Higher Education, Sissela Bok and Daniel Callahan, project co-directors
• Vll. Ethics and Engineering Curricula, Robert J. Baum
• IX. Ethics in the Undergraduate Curriculum, Bernard Rosen and Arthur L. Caplan

These books were published in 1980. The address of the Hastings Center is 255 Elm Road, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510.

2. Ethical Conflicts in Computer Science and Technology. Donn B. Parker, AFlPS Press, Arlington, Virginia, 1981.

This book includes 47 short fictional scenarios and an introduction that describes how these case studies were used in workshops. Workshop participants scored ethical judgments made in the scenarios, and their “votes” were included in the book. This book is relatively old, and some of the cases seem fairly pat. However, there are many cases to choose from, and they are in a format that is easy to share with students. The book has professional codes as appendices, including the ACM Code of Professional Conduct.

3. Computer Ethics. Deborah G. Johnson, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1985.

In about 100 pages Deborah Johnson gives a concise explanation of ethical theory and professional ethics and then applies this theory in four areas: liability for malfunctions in computer programs, computers and privacy, computers and power, and the ownership of computer programs. The book is particularly effective in introducing computer science students to formal ethical argument.

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